Bicycle Mechanics - A Mechanics Dream . . . or Nightmare?

I did a search here to see if this web site was posted already and didn't come up with any hits, so . . .

I present to you for your free-time holiday weekend surfing (if any):

Abandoned Bicycles of New York City

http://jschumacher.typepad.com/photos/abandoned_bikes/index.html

These pictures could either be a dream come true to some mechanics here . . . or a living nightmare!

Fun to look at, regardless. Some are quite funny. Enjoy.

(click on smaller pictures to see the larger ones, etc.)

And now for my companion photo essay: Abandoned BICYCLISTS of NYC! :roflmao:

I live in a small vilage with 400 families and ofen I find cheap bicycles near the rabish. All my chidrens and 6 of my bicycles were found in the rubish. Two days ago I found a MTB front wheel. Guess what? Phil Wood hub and Arraya RM 20 rim. The wheel was sharp true. Probably Santa place the wheel for me near the rabish.

Thanks Santa

That would be a dream for me. I rebuild old bikes for my grandpa, so I like old clunkers. He lives down in LA, and has a good 200 bikes and frames. He has everything when it comes to parts, he stocks up when there is a deal, its awesome. He sends me an abandoned bike, along with all the parts he thinks it needs. Then I rebuild/overhaul everything, then send it back to him. He then donates it to a local "crisis pregnancy store" and marks the price for it. He usually sends me a good $75 in new parts for the bike, then will mark the price at like $39. Pretty awesome.

I would have a field day w/ all those bikes :)

I live in a small vilage with 400 families and ofen I find cheap bicycles near the rabish. All my chidrens and 6 of my bicycles were found in the rubish. Two days ago I found a MTB front wheel. Guess what? Phil Wood hub and Arraya RM 20 rim. The wheel was sharp true. Probably Santa place the wheel for me near the rabish.

Thanks Santa

Damn Dood, I know someone in S.D. what would sell his wife for a mint set of those wheels. I hear they are nuclearproof. I got a rear that I'm itching to throw on a nice hardtail.

Just in case I have been visiting that rabish place, probably Santa will bring more surprises.
The only reason I can think someone dumped a wheel of this quality is because doesn't have a skewer.

Somewhere in NYC is a nice vintage BSA or Raleigh 3 speed thats begging to come see me.

The horror.

Awesome photo collection.

Nothing sadder than an abandoned bicycle.

You can almost here it saying "He locked me up, he MUST care about me... so he'll be back... anytime now..."

My bike is sleeping beside me.

Bedroom.

Girls who ride might understand.

The bike can be moved.

Ha! I have three bikes in my bedroom.
Well my bedroom is big, but still!

I think of them as sculptures that balance the 'feng shui' :D

Ha! I have three bikes in my bedroom.
Well my bedroom is big, but still!

I think of them as sculptures that balance the 'feng shui' :D

I've 4 in the bedroom, My main ride, 2 partial builds and a stripped frame I'm cleaning.
Ya, i've decorating with parts.
Clusters, cogs and rings on the wall, frames on the cieling
Forks on ledges, service manuals taped on the door.

Tires are stored in the basement as a collection of them smells pretty bad!

Ya, i've decorating with parts.

Xmas 1989 - we had no money, living in London, so I bought a little fake tree at Woolworth's for a couple pounds, and then we decorated it with bike bits...old Campy shift levers, bearing retainers, etc. It looked quite nice on top of our unlicensed TV!

Nothing sadder than an abandoned bicycle."

I might agree in the case of a bike worth doing something with. I see all those abandoned bikes, and sadly my first thought is "Damn, this world must make an incredible number of super crappy bikes" I know that this is the case, but it doesn't always hit home until I see pic after pic of them. They are built to be disposable, and that makes me sadder than the fact that people actually dispose of them.

And I know from abandoned bikes. Every year at Burning Man we end up having to deal with two huge dumpsterloads of abandoned bikes. Sadly way fewer than 1% of them is anything worth taking a second look at. Lots of steel hub/steel rim/galvanized spoke import jobs...sad sad sad

Xmas 1989 - we had no money, living in London, so I bought a little fake tree at Woolworth's for a couple pounds, and then we decorated it with bike bits...old Campy shift levers, bearing retainers, etc. It looked quite nice on top of our unlicensed TV!

Red reflectors on a green tree be nice.
Bike chain for garlands....and a star fangled nut on top. :p

Damn Dood, I know someone in S.D. what would sell his wife for a mint set of those wheels. I hear they are nuclearproof. I got a rear that I'm itching to throw on a nice hardtail.I've got a set of those wheels with better Mavic rims. Send me a picture of the wife and we'll talk...